Automatic stereotype plate casting and finishing machine

ABSTRACT

A new stereotype plate casting and finishing machine is disclosed having a dual arrangement of the various sections, each of two casting units being arranged, together with cooperating transfer units at an angle with respect to subsequent parallel inspection, finishing and cooling sections. Unique transfer means are disclosed for carrying newly cast plates from each of the respective casting units and for presenting the plates at inspection stations where an operator can inspect the newly cast plate.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Charles L. Richards South Plainiield, NJ. [2]] Appl. No. 857,825 [22] Filed Sept. 15, 1969 [45] Patented Nov. 16, 1971 [73] Assignee Wood Industries, Inc.

Plainfleld, N .J.

[54] AUTOMATIC STEREOTYPE PLATE CASTING AND FINISHING MACHINE 13 Claims, 13 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 164/140, 164/145 [51 Int. Cl B4ld 3/00 [50] Field of Search 164/2, 3, 139-145; 29/21 [5 6] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,268,463 6/1918 Hopkins 164/I39X 1,816,944 8/1931 Wood. 7 M w l 64/14 Q 1,838,602 12/1931 Wood 164/140 1,883,221 10/1932 Wood 164/140 2,511,737 6/1950 Richards et al.... 164/139 2,944,306 7/1960 Tollison et al. 164/140 X 2,985,925 5/1961 Tollison et a1. 164/140 X 3,052,933 9/1962 Tollison et a1. 164/140 X 3,172,172 3/1965 Tollison et a1. 164/144 X Primary ExaminerJ. Spencer Overholser Assistant Examiner-John E. Roethel AttorneyPennie, Edmonds, Morton, Taylor and Adams can inspect the newly cast plate.

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Conventional modern stereotype plate-casting machines usually consist of an in-line arrangement beginning with a casting unit adjacent to finishing and cooling units. Various improvements have evolved including, for example, mechanisms for rotating the casting core which has resulted in twofold production. However, in conventional prior art machines one of the difficulties has been to assure proper inspection of the cast plate prior to trimming if such plate should be defective.

I-Ieretofore, prior to the trimming operation, the operator attempting visually to inspect the newly cast plate but was unable in many instances satisfactorily to do so, since previous machines delivered newly cast plates directly to the trimming station.

It is the purpose of the present invention to disclose a novel rearrangement of the conventional casting unit, inspection and finishing stations in such a manner that inspection of each newly cast plate can be thoroughly accomplished prior to trimming. In the machine or the present invention an oscillating cam with two casting surfaces is employed which makes possible the casting and cooling of one plate while the preceding plate is being inspected. The novel arrangement further provides substantial savings in space by locating dual inspection, finishing and cooling stations closer to each other than would have been possible previously.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the invention, twin casting units are supplied from a common source of molten metal located therebetween. The casting units are oriented at an angle which is preferably 45 with respect to a longitudinal axis. The casting unit is of the rotary core type which is designed to deliver cast plates to a transfer unit similarly arranged at the afore mentioned 45 angle. The transfer unit receives the newly cast plate and rotates the plate through an angle sufficient to bring it in line with the longitudinal axis. The inspection unit receives the plate from the transfer carriage while it is in a vertical position and then will be rotated into a horizontal position. A mechanism included in the inspection unit then rotates the plate about a horizontal axis for better visual inspection. Thereafter, means are provided for transferring the plate subsequently to the finishing station where it is trimmed and therefrom to the cooling station. Conveyor means are provided for receiving the tail of the plate after trimming and for returning the tail or entire defective plates to the molten bath. Various aspects of the invention will become more readily apparent after an examination of the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment and the accompanying drawmg.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. I is a plan view of the plate casting and finishing machine of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevation view of casting, transfer and inspecting portions of the machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view of casting and transfer stations; FIG. 4 is a vertical section taken along line 4--4 of FIG. 6; FIG. 5 is a horizontal secton taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 4; FIG. 6 is a section taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 1; FIG. 7 is a horizontal section taken along line 77 of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a section through the stripper fingers, showing the stripper fingers in engagement with the cast plate;

FIG. 9 is a horizontal section taken along line 9-9 of FIG. 6 showing the transfer carriage in position to deposit the plate on the inspection saddle;

FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 are vertical sections taken along lines 10-10 and l111 ofFIG. 6;

FIG. 12 is a section similar to FIG. 11 with the plate tilted for inspection; and

FIG. 13 is a vertical section taken along lines 13-13 of FIG. 6.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawing and initially to FIGS. 1 and 2 thereof, plate-casting machines constructed according to the invention have been illustrated. Reference numeral 20 designates generally the casting unit which appears lowermost in FIG. 1. For ease in description and identification, we shall refer henceforth only to the plate casting and finishing machine at the bottom of FIG. 1, it being understood that the machine appearing uppermost in FIG. I is a separate plate casting and finishing machine in which the units are identical.

Reference numeral 21 indicates a transfer unit and reference numeral 22 designates the inspection station to which the transfer unit 21 transfers mold plates after casting. Units 23 and 24 are, respectively, finishing and cooling units which are conventional in form and will not be described therefore in detail. Also illustrated in FIG. 1 is a molten bath or furnace 26 which is the source of supply of molten lead to the casting section 21. Pump 27 supplies lead to the casting unit 21 through a conduit 28. Intermediate the finishing and cooling stations 23 and 24 is a conveyor 29 which leads to a central conveyor 30. The latter feeds the molten bath 26 and is adapted to receive a tail 31 after removal from the finished plate and, additionally, the conveyor means 29 and 30 are also adapted to convey rejected plates in their entirety to the furnace 26 for remelting.

Proceeding now to a further description of detailed portions of the plate-casting machine of the invention, we refer to FIG. 3 which illustrates the casting and transfer units 20 and 21. Accordingly, the core 32 of the casting unit cooperates with casting box 33 to define a cavity 34 therebetween for casting plates. Casting box 33 as shown is conventional in construction and therefore will not be described in detail. It is sufficient to say the casting unit 33 is equipped with means for holding a mat securely in place, for example, vacuum pressure means such as the series of vertical conduits 35 (FIG. 7) which are connected to apertures (not shown) in the face of the casting box. Mat-locking means 38 has been indicated generally in FIG. 3, which is conventional and therefore need not be described. The castng box 33 is also equipped with a mechanism for moving the box laterally away from the core 32 and for tipping the box 33 thereafter to provide access to the casting box for mat insertion and removal.

As shown in FIGS. 3,4 and 5, a mechanism for rotating the core 32 has been illustrated. The core 32 is mounted about a central axis comprising a shaft 40. The shaft 40 is bolted to the frame 41 and surrounding the shaft 40 is a collar member 42 which is fixed to the core 32. Collar member 42 and thus core 32 are permitted to rotate about shaft 40 by means of the intermediate bushing 43. Mounted on the collar 42 is a driven lug 44 which, in turn, is straddled by a driving yoke 45. The yoke 45 is keyed at 4511 to an output drive shaft 46 of a rotary hydraulic motor 47. Motor 47 includes hydraulic cylinders 47a and 47b, which operate in conjunction with a rack and pinion arrangement to rotate the shaft 46.

During rotation of the core 32 through the agency of the rotary hydraulic motor 47, the precise degree of rotation will be controlled by cam 48 mounted on the upper end of shaft 46, the cam 48 cooperating (as best seen in FIG. 3) with a microswitch 50 actuated by cam follower arm 50a. In the illustrated embodiment, the arrangement of the cam 48 and microswitch 50 together with rotary hydraulic motor 47 is such that the core 32 will be rotated precisely After each such rotation a counterrotation of precisely 180 will occur as successive plates are cast and presented to the transfer unit 21, as will now be explained.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, the casting unit 20 has mounted thereto a hydraulic cylinder 53 connected by rods 53a, 53b to hell cranks 54, 55. the latter are respectively anchored to the structure of the casting unit 20 by brackets 56a, 56b. The bellcranks 54, 55 are, in turn, connected by means of links 57a, 57b to arms 58a, 58b, whose ends are pivotally attached to a stripping mechanism 59a, 59b. As best seen in FIG. 8, the stripping mechanism comprises fingers 60a, 60b which are movable within a slot 61a, 61b formed in the housing of the stripping mechanism. The ends of arms 58a, 58b are connected to shaft elements 62a, 62b which, in turn, are connected to drive rods 63a, 63b. The drive rods are located in the slots 64a, 64b of fingers 60a, 60 b. When the arms 58a, 58b are rotated, the fingers 60a, 60b move in from the position shown in FIG. 7 to that shown in FIG. 8 for engagement with the ends of a newly cast plate P. As shown in FIG. 7, the castingbox is shown in a retracted position away from the core 32. Movement of the casting box 20 toward the core 32 will cause the fingers 60a and 60b to strip plate P from the core and to move the plate toward the transfer mechanism 21. The transfer mechanism 21 has feet 66 upon which the plate may slide during the movement of the latter from core. When the plate P has been urged into engagement with the arcuate transfer carriage 65 of the transfer mechanism 21, a microswitch 67 will sense the positioning of the plate P and will cause actuation of a further hydraulic clamping arrangement indicated generally by reference numeral 68.

Accordingly, the transfer mechanism 21 comprises a hydraulic cylinder 69 which, acting through rods 70a, 70b, can rotate bell clamps 71a, 71b.The latter, in turn, operate links 72a and 72b which cause rotation of arms 73a, 73b and, in turn, cause inward and outward movement of retaining fingers 74a, 74b. The fingers 74a and 74b will therefore be actuated when the plate P is sensed by the microswitch 67 to be securely in position against the face of the transfer carriage 65.

Referring further to FIGS. 6 and 7, the transfer carriage 65 is held by upper and lower pivot arms 76, 77 which are pivotally secured to the shaft 78. At the upper end of the transfer carriage the arms 76 and 77 terminate in suitable bearings 80a, 80b so that the transfer carriage may pivot about a central axis. A. Respectively connected to the arms 76, 77 and shaft 78 are identical upper and lower links 82, 82a. Links 82, 82a are, in turn, fixedly connected to vertical shaft 83. The shaft 83 is supported at the bottom thereof by an adjustable bolt 85 below and a bracket 86 which securely position shaft 83 in a vertical position.

As shown in FIG. 7, the transfer carriage 65 is movable between the full and dotted line positions having respective central vertical axes A and A. As best shown in FIG. 3, the reciprocal hydraulic motor 88 actuates rod 89, which is pivotally attached to a link 90. The opposite end of link 90 is secured to the upper end of shaft 78. Therefore, motor 88 may be actuated so as to move the rod 89 in the direction of the arrow. The shaft 78 will thus move clockwise to cause the transfer carriage to move from the position denoted by axis A to the position denoted by axis A. Precise positioning of the transfer carriage 65 in either position is accomplished by a cam 900 which will actuate microswitches 91, 92 through the agency of follower arms 91a, 92a.

Fastened to the upper surface of the transfer carriage 65 is a bracket 93 which mounts guide rollers 94, 96. The guide rollers are adapted to travel initially in a channel 97 defined by two guide members 980, 98 b. The latter are secured within the frame 41, as best shown in FIG. 9. During the initial movement of the transfer carriage 65 by motor 88, as above described, the guide rollers 94, 96 will be drawn from channel 97 into a track 99 which is formed within disk 100. The disk 100 has a central hub 101 which is secured to an output drive shaft 102 driven by a rotary hydraulic motor 103. Accordingly, when the rollers 94, 96 are positioned within track 99, the motor 103 will be energized to rotate the disk through an angle of 135, as shown in FIG. 9. The transfer carriage 65 will thereby be rotated from the dotted position as shown in FIG. 7 to the solid position of FIG. 9. In the position of FIG. 9, the transfer carriage presents the plate P in line with inspection and finishing stations 23, 24 which as shown in FIG. 1 are at a 45 angle with respect to casting unit 20 and transfer unit 21.

Referring now to FIG. 6, the inspection unit 22 comprises an inspection saddle generally indicated by reference numeral 110. The saddle is supported by bifurcated arms 104 and 105 which are pivotally attached at respectively 104' and 105 to a central frame 111. Arms 104, 105 are pivotally attached at their lower ends to frame 106, which is adjustable by means of screw shaft 107 relative to the main frame 108 of the machine. A hydraulic motor 120 is connected to arm 105.

When the transfer carriage 65 has been rotated by disk 100 into the position shown in FIG. 9, a microswitch (not shown) will trigger actuation of motor 120 to cause movement of the inspection saddle 110 and frame 1 11 from the horizontal position as shown in FIG. 6 to the vertical position as shown in FIG. 9. In the latter position, the inspection saddle is able to receive the plate P from the transfer carriage.

Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, can be seen that the inspection unit 22 is also equipped with reciprocal hydraulic motors 112a, 1I2b whose pistons (not shown) are connected to rods 113a, 113b. The latter are in turn connected to links 114a, 114b and arms 115a, 115b which are pivotally secured by shafts 116a, l16b to the frame 111 of the inspection unit. Arms 116a, 116 b mount clamping pads 117a, 1 17 b. The position of the saddle 110 with respect to the transfer carriage is such that the plate P will be received against the saddle 110. When this has occurred a microswitch 121 senses the positioning of plate P and will cause actuation of motors 112a, 117a, 117b. Such actuation will bring clamping pads 1170, 1 17b firmly into engagement with the circumference of the plate P. During rotation of shafts 116a, 116b feet 118 connected thereto will be caused to rotate beneath the plate P to provide underlying support so that when the fingers 74a, 74b are subsequently released, the plate will be firmly supported and held against the inspection saddle 110. Release of the finers 74a, 74b occurs subsequent to the aforementioned clamping action by pads 117a and 117b. Mounted on the shafts 116a and 116b, which rotate with pads 117a and 117b, are microswitch actuating lugs 123, 124 which actuate microswitches 126, 127, as best seen in FIG. 13. Switches 126 and 127 jointly control actuation of motor 69 which controls the release of fingers 74a, 74b. Simultaneously, with energization of the motor 69, switches 126, 127 cause reverse actuation of motor to return the inspection saddle to the horizontal position in FIG.

It is a feature of the present invention that when the plate P has been transferred to the inspection saddle and lies in the horizontal position as shown in FIG. 6, the saddle may then be rotated to present fully all exterior surfaces thereof for visual inspection. With reference to FIGS. 6 and 11, it will be seen that the inspection saddle comprising the outermost portion of the unit 22 is free to rotate about the frame 111. The saddle 110 is afiixed to the frame 111 by the shaft l16b pivotably located in brackets 129. Shaft 116a is supported within a recess 131 formed in brackets 132 extending from frame 111. Additionally, the saddle 110 has internally. mounted thereto a bracket 133 to which is pivotally attached at 134 a link 135. in turn, pivotally connected at 136 to a further link 137. The latter is affixed to a shaft 138 which mounts gear 139. Idle gear 140 is driven by gear 141 which is affixed to shaft 142 of a rotary hydraulic motor 143. Accordingly, rotation of shaft 142 in a clockwise position will produce, through gears 139-140 and links -137, a corresponding rotation of the saddle 110 about shaft 116a to the position shown in FIG. 12. Reverse rotation of shaft 142 will return the saddle to the position in FIG. 13. AS shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the maximum extent of rotation of motor 143 is controlled by cam 144 in cooperation with microswitch element 145. Within the limitation provided by cam 144 and switch 145, the operator may cause the saddle to rotate between the respective positions of FIGS. 12 and 10.

In order to prevent the operator from actuating motor 143 prior to the position of the inspection saddle, as shown in FIG. 6, a microswitch 146 must first be actuated to permit subsequent energization of motor 143. A pin 147 shown in FIGS. 6 and 10 will actuate switch 146 when the saddle comes to rest in a horizontal position.

After inspecting the newly cast plate, switching means (not shown) will be used to release clamping pad 117a, 1 17b and a transfer mechanism (not shown) will slide plate P into a position within the finishing station. A mechanism generally for transferring plate P from the inspection station into the finishing station has been shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,052,933.

The sequence of operation of the plate-casting transfer and inspection portions of the machine is as follows:

Subsequent to insertion of the mat, the casting unit 20, ineluding the core 32 and casting box 33, will be in the position shown in FIG. 3. In this position a newly cast plate will be formed on the core 32. The casting box 33 will then be retracted and the core rotated 180 as shown in FIG. 7. Motor 53 will be actuated to effect inward movement of fingers 60a, 60b, so that the return of casting head 32 to the position of FIG. 3 will simultaneously effect stripping of the plate P and movement thereof against the face of transfer carriage 65. Microswitch 67 will energize hydraulic actuator 69 to move fingers 74a, 74b inwardly against the edge of plate P thereby together with underlying feet 66 providing positive support for the plate in the transfer carriage.

When the plate P has been so positioned and held against the transfer carriage, the hydraulic motor 88 will be actuated through members 89 and 90 to cause the latter to rotate about shaft 78 and the transfer carriage 65 to move from position along the axis A to A. Precise positioning of the carriage in both positions is controlled by microswitch elements 91a, 92a. During the initial movement of the transfer carriage by the motor 88, guide rollers will move from a position in line with the axis AA' to a track formed within a disk 100. The disk 100 is driven by a rotary hydraulic motor 103 and the transfer carriage is rotated 135 to the position shown in FIG. 9. In this position the transfer carriage and adjacent inspection unit 22 are in alignment.

Hydraulic actuated clamps 117a, 1l7b will be brought to bear upon the plate P to secure the plate to the inspection saddle 110. Thereafter, fingers 74a, 74b of the transfer carriage will release from the plate P. Motor 120 when energized will cause the inspection saddle to be rotated into a horizontal position through the agency of arms 104, 105. In this position the inspection saddle 110 can be rotated about the shaft 1l6b as shown in FIG. 12 to present the surface of the plate toward the operator. Thereafter, the saddle will be rotated to a horizontal position for transfer to the finishing station 23.

It will be seen from the foregoing that the present invention contemplates a novel overall arrangement of the several units consisting of casting, transfer and inspection units. In addition to the considerable saving of space provided by the dual, compact arrangement, and increased production made possible thereby, the novel plate casting and finishing machine of the invention includes unique transfer means in the form of a carriage which receives the newly cast plate, moves along a first axis in line with the casting unit for a predetermined distance and then is rotated to a angle sufficient to bring the cast plate into line with the inspection unit. Furthermore, the inspection unit includes unique means for presenting the cast plate fully and visually to the operator prior to trimming so that any defects in the plate may be picked up quickly before additional work has been performed, such as finishing and cooling.

it will be apparent that the above description relates to a preferred embodiment and is merely representative. Therefore, in order to appreciate fully the Spirit and scope of the present invention, reference should be made to the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In an apparatus for casting a printing plate in a casting unit having a central core rotatable about a vertical axis, a casting head andmeans for releasably holding a mat against said head during the casting of a molten metal against the core to form said plate, the improvement comprising the combination of said casting unit and a transfer unit including a transfer carriage for transferring said plate from said casting unit to said transfer carriage along a first axis, an inspection unit, means in said inspection unit for receiving said plate from said transfer carriage and means for moving said inspection unit to present said plate for inspection.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said inspection unit includes an inspection saddle to receive said plate, a frame, pivotal mounting means supporting said saddle on said frame and means for moving said frame from a vertical position to receive said plate to a horizontal position wherein said saddle may be pivoted away from said frame to present said plate for inspection.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2 in which the longitudinal axis of said saddle in a horizontal position is angularly disposed with respect to the common axis of the said casting and transfer units, and transfer unit rotation means to rotate said transfer unit sufficiently after receiving said plate from said casting unit to bring said plate into alignment with said longitudinal axis.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 in which the transfer carriage moves along said first-mentioned axis for a predetermined distance prior to rotation thereof toward said inspection unit.

5. The apparatus of claim 3 which further includes a dual arrangement of casting, transfer and inspection units in side-byside relation, the respective longitudinal axes of said dual inspection units being parallel, each of said dual casting and transfer units being angularly disposed outwardly from said longitudinal axes.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5 in which said casting and transfer units are disposed at an angle of 45 with respect to said longitudinal axes.

7. The apparatus of the claim 6 in which dual finishing and cooling units are provided along said longitudinal axes to receive a cast plate from said inspection units, conveyor means located centrally between said longitudinal axes, molten bath at the terminus of said conveyor means located intermediate said casting units and means for supplying molten metal therefrom to each casting unit.

8. Apparatus for casting and finishing printing plates comprising a dual arrangement of casting, inspection, finishing and cooling sections, said inspection, cooling and finishing sections being arranged parallel to a longitudinal axis, said casting sections having vertical axes angularly disposed outwardly away from said longitudinal axis and transfer means for receiving vertically disposed cast plates; said transfer means being rotatable through the different angular dispositions of said casting sections and said inspection, finishing and cooling sections for transferring newly east vertically disposed plates from the casting section to the inspection section.

9. Apparatus according to claim 8 wherein a source of molten metal for casting is located on said longitudinal axis intermediate said dual casting units and conveyor means is provided extending along said longitudinal axis and laterally toward said longitudinal axis from each of said finishing sections.

10. Apparatus for casting and finishing a printing plate, said apparatus comprising a casting unit having a central core rotatable about a vertical axis, a casting head and means for releasably holding a mat against said head during the casting of a molten metal against the core to form said plate, said casting head being tiltable toward and away from said core, means for rotating said core subsequent to casting of each plate, an arcuate transfer carriage, an articulating linkage assembly including horizontal upper and lower arms pivotally connected to said carriage, support means attached to lower portions of the carriage extending toward said core, platestripping fingers attached to said casting head, motor means for actuating said fingers toward said core such that tilting of said casting head toward said core will effect stripping of said plate therefrom and movement of said plate toward and against said transfer carriage after said core has been rotated 180, said plate being slidably supported upon said transfer carriage support means, clamping means associated with said transfer carriage for clamping said plate against the face of said transfer carriage, means for shifting said transfer carriage for a distance along an axis common to the axis of movement of said casting head, means for rotating said transfer carriage through an angle greater than 90, an inspection unit including an inspection saddle having means to receive said plate, said inspection unit having a frame, pivotal mounting means supporting said saddle on said frame and means for moving said frame between vertical and horizontal positions, mounting arms and motor means driving said arms for moving said frame and saddle into a vertical position adjacent to said transfer carriage along an axis common to the angular disposition of said transfer carriage with respect to the first-mentioned axis, means for releasing said transfer carriage means and means for clamping said plate against said inspection saddle, means for moving said inspection saddle into a horizontal position, ahd motor means for rotating said inspection saddle away from said frame while said frame is in a horizontal position.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10 in which the means for rotating said transfer carriage comprises a rotary motordriven disk, said disk defining a groove, cam rollers connected to said transfer carriage being located in said groove to effect rotation of said transfer carriage upon rotation of said disk.

12. The apparatus according to claim 10 in which the axis along which said transfer carriage moves is 45 with respect to the axis of movement of said inspection unit, finishing and cooling stations are located in line with said last-mentioned axis and a second series of units including casting, transfer, inspection, finishing and cooling sections are located adjacent to the first-mentioned units, each of said inspection, finishing and cooling units being arranged in parallel relation about a central longitudinal axis, each of said casting and transfer units being angularly oriented outwardly therefrom.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein a source of molten metal is located along said longitudinal axis intermediate said casting units, and a conveyor for carrying trimmings from said plate after said inspection units is provided from said finishing units to the source of molten metal.

l i II II mg? UNE'IED STAT as Pym OFFICE fiER'iEFIQATE QQREEHION Patent No3, 9 Dated December 28, 1971 lnv nt fl Charles L. Ricards It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent: are hereby corrected as shown below:

Title page, item 72, inventor, change "Richards" to --Rica.rds-

Under references cited, change "Richards et a1. to

--Rica.rds et al.--

Colunn 1, line 21, change "attempting" to --attempted-- Column 3, line 6, change the" to The-- can" to it can-- Column line 25, change line 35, chen e"il7a" to -ll2b-- line 36, delete "il'fo" first occurance Column 6, claim 7, line &5, axes mol-" to "axes 6. mol- Signed and sealed this 23rd day of May 1972.

p1,; ski/ .165315:

EDwAE-LID Z LQFLETCPTSRJB. ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Attecoing Officer Commissioner of Patents 

1. In an apparatus for casting a printing plate in a casting unit having a central core rotatable about a vertical axis, a casting head and means for releasably holding a mat against said head during the casting of a molten metal against the core to form said plate, the improvement comprising the combination of said casting unit and a transfer unit including a transfer carriage for transferring said plate from said casting unit to said transfer carriage along a first axis, an inspection unit, means in said inspection unit for receiving said plate from said transfer carriage and means for moving said inspection unit to present said plate for inspection.
 2. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said inspection unit includes an inspection saddle to receive said plate, a frame, pivotal mounting means supporting said saddle on said frame and means for moving said frame from a vertical position to receive said plate to a horizontal position wherein said saddle may be pivoted away from said frame to present said plate for inspection.
 3. The apparatus according to claim 2 in which the longitudiNal axis of said saddle in a horizontal position is angularly disposed with respect to the common axis of the said casting and transfer units, and transfer unit rotation means to rotate said transfer unit sufficiently after receiving said plate from said casting unit to bring said plate into alignment with said longitudinal axis.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3 in which the transfer carriage moves along said first-mentioned axis for a predetermined distance prior to rotation thereof toward said inspection unit.
 5. The apparatus of claim 3 which further includes a dual arrangement of casting, transfer and inspection units in side-by-side relation, the respective longitudinal axes of said dual inspection units being parallel, each of said dual casting and transfer units being angularly disposed outwardly from said longitudinal axes.
 6. The apparatus according to claim 5 in which said casting and transfer units are disposed at an angle of 45* with respect to said longitudinal axes.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6 in which dual finishing and cooling units are provided along said longitudinal axes to receive a cast plate from said inspection units, conveyor means located centrally between said longitudinal axes, molten bath at the terminus of said conveyor means located intermediate said casting units and means for supplying molten metal therefrom to each casting unit.
 8. Apparatus for casting and finishing printing plates comprising a dual arrangement of casting, inspection, finishing and cooling sections, said inspection, cooling and finishing sections being arranged parallel to a longitudinal axis, said casting sections having vertical axes angularly disposed outwardly away from said longitudinal axis and transfer means for receiving vertically disposed cast plates; said transfer means being rotatable through the different angular dispositions of said casting sections and said inspection, finishing and cooling sections for transferring newly cast vertically disposed plates from the casting section to the inspection section.
 9. Apparatus according to claim 8 wherein a source of molten metal for casting is located on said longitudinal axis intermediate said dual casting units and conveyor means is provided extending along said longitudinal axis and laterally toward said longitudinal axis from each of said finishing sections.
 10. Apparatus for casting and finishing a printing plate, said apparatus comprising a casting unit having a central core rotatable about a vertical axis, a casting head and means for releasably holding a mat against said head during the casting of a molten metal against the core to form said plate, said casting head being tiltable toward and away from said core, means for rotating said core 180* subsequent to casting of each plate, an arcuate transfer carriage, an articulating linkage assembly including horizontal upper and lower arms pivotally connected to said carriage, support means attached to lower portions of the carriage extending toward said core, plate-stripping fingers attached to said casting head, motor means for actuating said fingers toward said core such that tilting of said casting head toward said core will effect stripping of said plate therefrom and movement of said plate toward and against said transfer carriage after said core has been rotated 180*, said plate being slidably supported upon said transfer carriage support means, clamping means associated with said transfer carriage for clamping said plate against the face of said transfer carriage, means for shifting said transfer carriage for a distance along an axis common to the axis of movement of said casting head, means for rotating said transfer carriage through an angle greater than 90*, an inspection unit including an inspection saddle having means to receive said plate, said inspection unit having a frame, pivotal mounting means supporting said saddle on said frame and means for moving said frame between vertical And horizontal positions, mounting arms and motor means driving said arms for moving said frame and saddle into a vertical position adjacent to said transfer carriage along an axis common to the angular disposition of said transfer carriage with respect to the first-mentioned axis, means for releasing said transfer carriage means and means for clamping said plate against said inspection saddle, means for moving said inspection saddle into a horizontal position, and motor means for rotating said inspection saddle away from said frame while said frame is in a horizontal position.
 11. The apparatus according to claim 10 in which the means for rotating said transfer carriage comprises a rotary motor-driven disk, said disk defining a groove, cam rollers connected to said transfer carriage being located in said groove to effect rotation of said transfer carriage upon rotation of said disk.
 12. The apparatus according to claim 10 in which the axis along which said transfer carriage moves is 45* with respect to the axis of movement of said inspection unit, finishing and cooling stations are located in line with said last-mentioned axis and a second series of units including casting, transfer, inspection, finishing and cooling sections are located adjacent to the first-mentioned units, each of said inspection, finishing and cooling units being arranged in parallel relation about a central longitudinal axis, each of said casting and transfer units being angularly oriented outwardly therefrom.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein a source of molten metal is located along said longitudinal axis intermediate said casting units, and a conveyor for carrying trimmings from said plate after said inspection units is provided from said finishing units to the source of molten metal. 